T top question...

MYBAD79 said:
If weight is your only complaint then put these on a scale and I'll do the same with my fiberglass tops.... I don't expect much of a difference, the fiberglass tops are pretty heavy....
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Karsten, I weighed a top and it came in at around 6 1/2 kg (a bit over 14 lbs) How does that compare to yours?


damoroso said:
...Don't know about using glass tops in that part of the world though....spent enough time there to cause me to think about it! Glad to be back in Florida for awhile!!!
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No, the sun out here would incinerate my head through glass tops, not to mention they are bloody expensive!


Twin_Turbo said:
Dang, those are awesome...I like how clean they are without the ugly edge trimming.

The black frames are from glass tops, someone most likely cracked them and fabricated the sheet metal tops from them...nice!!!
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That would be exactly what happened mate. I knew a guy out here years ago that had an old Trans Am and one of his tops came off while he was driving on the highway. He took it to a panel shop and they (at his suggestion) removed the other top and made a fixed, solid roof (as in welded on)!

I haven't had a close look but I'm assuming the frames are just glued onto the panel. I did notice a few "empty" threaded holes in the frames! Can those T-top head liners fit the glass tops? If they did, they'd hide the plain steel.


DeeVeeEight said:
Those fit better than any of my tops, glass or fiberglass.... very nice.
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Well, from what you've all said, these things aren't as bad as I'd imagined so I may as well keep the damn things. I'll have to tidy up the "trailing" edge of the left top so that it's straight but no big deal I suppose...
 
saudivette said:
MYBAD79 said:
If weight is your only complaint then put these on a scale and I'll do the same with my fiberglass tops.... I don't expect much of a difference, the fiberglass tops are pretty heavy....
Click to expand...
Karsten, I weighed a top and it came in at around 6 1/2 kg (a bit over 14 lbs) How does that compare to yours?
Click to expand...

I won't be near the '79 before Wednesday.... email me a reminder ... to speed this up a little... maybe somebody else can weigh a fiberglass top ??? ;):phone::amazed::quote:
 
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MYBAD79 said:
saudivette said:
MYBAD79 said:
If weight is your only complaint then put these on a scale and I'll do the same with my fiberglass tops.... I don't expect much of a difference, the fiberglass tops are pretty heavy....
Click to expand...
Karsten, I weighed a top and it came in at around 6 1/2 kg (a bit over 14 lbs) How does that compare to yours?
Click to expand...

I won't be near the '79 before Wednesday.... email me a reminder ... to speed this up a little... maybe somebody else can weigh a fiberglass top ??? ;):phone::amazed::quote:
Click to expand...

Just weighed one of the tops off of my 74 at around 12 1/2 lbs

Steve
 
Stpman said:
MYBAD79 said:
saudivette said:
MYBAD79 said:
If weight is your only complaint then put these on a scale and I'll do the same with my fiberglass tops.... I don't expect much of a difference, the fiberglass tops are pretty heavy....
Click to expand...
Karsten, I weighed a top and it came in at around 6 1/2 kg (a bit over 14 lbs) How does that compare to yours?
Click to expand...

I won't be near the '79 before Wednesday.... email me a reminder ... to speed this up a little... maybe somebody else can weigh a fiberglass top ??? ;):phone::amazed::quote:
Click to expand...

Just weighed one of the tops off of my 74 at around 12 1/2 lbs

Steve
Click to expand...
Thanks mate :thumbs:
 
saudivette said:
No, the sun out here would incinerate my head through glass tops, not to mention they are bloody expensive!
Click to expand...

I would suspect that the inside of that sheet metal top with no insulation would get pretty flamin' hot in the sandland sun too.
 
TimAT said:
saudivette said:
No, the sun out here would incinerate my head through glass tops, not to mention they are bloody expensive!
Click to expand...

I would suspect that the inside of that sheet metal top with no insulation would get pretty flamin' hot in the sandland sun too.
Click to expand...
No doubt about that mate, that's why I was cuious as to whether the head liners would fit over (what used to be) the glass T-top frame work. It might even be possible to sandwich some insulation between the sheet metal and the head liner??


greg75vette said:
There seems to be some variance (in scales or tops). I weighed my driver yesterday to be 15 1/2 lbs.
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That's odd, a 3 lbs difference...
 
Just weighed one of the Mirror Glass tops from the '81 we used to own.
It came in at 14.4 lbs. ( Yes I sold the car a while back to a fellow
co-worker but the tops are still in my garage. )

FYI....the glass are glued to the frame in basically the same fashion
a windshield is glued in on a late model automobile. In fact on one of
these tops the glass is coming lose from the frame and will need to be
removed and then reattached.
 
I stripped my tops today. It took quite a bit of time to separate the tops from the frames as the clever bastard who made the tops, lost his street cred when he used about 160 tubes of silicone to hold the frames to the tops!

All four locating studs also came away with the frames but I could see where they'd been and re-attached them to the tops with the trusty 3M8115.

The worst part about stripping them though was the weather seals turning to manky black dirt and dust and shit. Of course, the 4 screws that hold the edge of the seal to the frame were completely siezed and had to be removed with vice grips...
 
I will be sticking my frames back to the tops soon but what should I use to do it? I spoke to a T-top rebuilding place some time ago and they said that they use urethane adhesive when sticking glass tops back onto the frames but obviously they had no experience with steel tops. Would urethane adhesive be ok to stick my steel tops back on?
 
Get some PRC- that stuff will stick anything together- and working aircraft, there's got to be some of that around that's out of date- or close enough you could snag it. Other than that, I'd say the urethane they install windshields with.

And while you've got them apart, you can clean up that trailing edge
 
Tim's gook there seems like a better solution but really, about a tube of RTV should easy do one panel....:lol::lol::stirpot:
 
TimAT said:
Get some PRC- that stuff will stick anything together- and working aircraft, there's got to be some of that around that's out of date- or close enough you could snag it. Other than that, I'd say the urethane they install windshields with.

And while you've got them apart, you can clean up that trailing edge
Click to expand...

Ahh, good call Tim, we have PRC at work!

I have the tops all cleaned up and primed just waiting for the frames to go back on. I think I'll latch the frames back onto the car, put the adhesive on the frame then position the top and get them square on the car, then tighten up the nuts on the four studs.
 
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